Boil water notice in Lough Talt public water supply lifted

The boil water notice for customers supplied by the Lough Talt public water supply has been lifted with immediate effect. This will benefit Cloontia, Doocastle and Quarryfield customers in Mayo.

The boil water notice was issued on the supply on January 11 last year to protect public health due to ongoing detections of cryptosporidium in the public water supply, affecting approximately 13,000 customers.

Now, following consultation with the HSE, Irish Water and Sligo County Council, the advice to customers is that the drinking water can be consumed as normal.

A number of consumers in the Bellaghy area are still served by the Charlestown Public Water Supply, and Irish Water and Sligo County Council will be carrying out preparatory works on the network in Bellaghy and surrounds over the coming week or so in order to transfer them back to the Lough Talt scheme as quickly as possible. The consumers may experience some disruption to their current supply while these necessary works are taking place.

Today’s announcement is welcome news for the residents supplied from the Lough Talt supply and represents a significant achievement for Irish Water and Sligo County Council.

The Lough Talt water treatment plant, built in 1972, did not provide adequate treatment for protection against cryptosporidium and the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs), and needed to be upgraded.

Anthony Skeffington, Irish Water’s regional operations manager, said: “Irish Water and Sligo County Council would like to thank the customers who were affected by this notice for their patience and cooperation while essential works were carried out at the water treatment plant to ensure the notice could be lifted as quickly as possible.

“We are delighted that the plant is now operational following a €10 million investment by Irish Water and the long-running boil water notice is now lifted. The commencement of these works followed a complex planning process.

“Having consulted with the planning authorities and the EU Commission in relation to the Habitats Directive, Irish Water worked with key stakeholders, including the National Parks & Wildlife Service, to progress a planning application under the ‘Imperative Reasons for Over-riding Public Interest (IROPI)’ mechanism.

“Irish Water submitted a revised planning application in 2018 supported by the IROPI documentation and planning permission was granted in May 2019 with conditions attached. This was the first ever successful IROPI decision in Ireland. Irish Water remains committed to meeting the ecological requirements associated with this complex and unique project in the years ahead.”

John McElwaine, regional delivery lead, Irish Water, added: “Irish Water acknowledges the impact and inconvenience caused by the imposition of this boil water notice to homes and businesses. Our priority is the provision of safe, clean drinking water, and safeguarding that water supply for the future is a vital focus.

“The upgraded plant is supplying clean and safe drinking water to Tubbercurry, Ballymote and the surrounding communities. We anticipate that the plant will continue to abstract water from Lough Talt for the next 10 years. Meanwhile, Irish Water has begun a feasibility study to identify an alternative water source that will replace the Lough Talt supply in the long term.”

As part of the upgrade works which enabled the lifting of the boil water notice, Irish Water installed new robust treatment processes at the plant. The completed works mitigate against THM formation, protect against cryptosporidium, and improve the water quality.

John continued: “The next step is to collate and submit the required verification data to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their consideration and assessment. Irish Water is currently compiling all the necessary data on the performance of the new water treatment plant for submission to the EPA with a view to facilitating its removal from the Remedial Action List (RAL). This is expected in the near future.”

Business customers have been receiving a 40% rebate on the cost of the supply of water to their businesses for the duration of the boil water notice. Should customers have any queries regarding the lifting of this notice they can check out the Water Supply Updates section on www.water.ie or contact Irish Water directly on Twitter (@IWCare) and via our customer care helpline, which is open 24/7, on 1850 278 278.